Dabawenyos told to only trust uniformed porters at DCOTT

Davao City Overland Transport Terminal Manager Aisa Yusop, in an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio Wednesday, December 28, said that Dabawenyos should be wary of individuals who volunteer to carry their baggage.

Usop said that they received a report from a conductor about a complaining passenger, who claimed to have paid fare to a person who presented himself as a conductor after voluntarily carrying the passenger’s luggage.

“Mao na na ang naging modus.. nagpasalamat ko’g dako because it was reported on the ground, mao to sige nato gi-announce using the megaphone nga dili sila magpa-assist anang tao nga walay uniform tapos muingon nga tabangan ka’g dala ug taga bus ko mao nang kuyugan ka namo. Hunahunaon nato nga wala nay libre karong panahuna. Ayaw pod mo hatag og kwarta without the ticket (That became the modus and I am thankful because that incident was reported to us on the ground and we repeatedly announced to the public using a megaphone that they should not allow anyone without a uniform to assist them, especially if the person will volunteer to assist and claim that they are from the bus company. We should think that nothing is free in this world. You should also not give money without a ticket),” Usop said.

She said that an incident of that nature was reported only once.

Yusop said that the terminal has official porters who can assist the passengers with their luggage and the fees for the services are uniform.

“Kung naa man gani mo’y bagahe nga ipadala ninyo, we have our official porters who are wearing uniforms and we already told them nga kinahanglan nga gamiton nila ang ilang t-shirt kay naa man to’y number sa likod ( If you have baggage we have our official porters who wear uniforms and we already told them that they need to wear their t-shirts because these have numbers),” Yusop said, adding that the passengers should remember the number at the back of their porters and report to DCOTT management any irregularities committed.

“Ang atong mga porters dili na sila makapangayo or [makahimo og] overpricing kay naa nata’y taripa naa nako’y gipatarpaulin mismo sa entrance before ka musulod sa atong passengers’ entrance (Our porters cannot ask or commit overpricing because we have our schedule of fees on tarpaulin, which can be found at the passengers’ entrance),” she said.

Yusop said that at the end of the day the money collected as payment for porters is divided among them. The porters also work in shifts and there are personnel that monitor them so that they have an equal share of clients.

She said that apart from such reported incident, she is thankful that they were able to prepare for the surge of people during the holidays by preparing folding beds for rent for passengers who may wait longer for their buses, and also properly coordinated with bus operators for additional units.

Yusop said that since December 25, people continue to flock to the DCOTT. Passengers are advised to follow the terminal regulations which can be found on the DCOTT-FMOD Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=136454415814650&set=a.128423606617731.